Advance To The D514

After the first objective, a small group of ruined farm buildings, had fallen, the Rangers pushed on without pause despite enemy artillery falling nearby. Ahead, the ground was open, and the trench used thus far came to an end at …

1944-06-06

P02

After the first objective, a small group of ruined farm buildings, had fallen, the Rangers pushed on without pause despite enemy artillery falling nearby. Ahead, the ground was open, and the trench used thus far came to an end at the buildings. The next cover. 35 to 40 yards south, was a communications trench that crossed the exit road. To reach it, men were sent out one or two at a time, moving fast and taking different routes across an area exposed to machine-gun fire. The only casualty was a Ranger who fell on a comrade’s bayonet as he jumped into the trench. Beyond the trench a pair of concrete pillars flanked the exit road, with a cRide roadblock between them. Three Gennans came down the road, spotted the Rangers, and diieked behind the block. BAR fire failed to flush them out, but after one round (a dud) from a bazooka the Germans fled. The Rangers resumed their advance down the road in the face of machine-gun fire, coming from the next farm: Lapres reached it with his four men to find the enemy had left. He was pinned down there by enemy machine-gun fire from the flanks. Some friendly fire, from parts unseen, soon silenced the machine-guns. This was the last of the German resistance, and Lapres party made the final stretch to the blacktop without any trouble. As they came to it they saw Tech. 5 Davis of Company F coming through the fields on their left, and a few minutes later a larger party of Company F men came along the highway from the east. At 0815. barely an hour since the landing, the Rangers had reached their final objective, good time, even though enemy opposition had clearly suffered from disorganization. As the survivors put it later, the reason of the advance was simple: enemy artillery fire seemed to be “tailing them all the way,” and this discouraged any delay.

Pointe Du Hoc, France

La Pointe du Hoc is a promontory with a 100-foot (30 m) cliff overlooking the English Channel on the northwestern coast of Normandy in the Calvados department, France. Pointe du Hoc was the location of a series of German bunkers and machine gun posts. Prior to the invasion of Normandy, the German army fortified the area with concrete casemates and gun pits. On D-Day, the United States Army Provisional Ranger Group attacked and captured Pointe du Hoc after scaling the cliffs. United States generals including Dwight D. Eisenhower had found that the place housed artillery that could slow down nearby beach attacks.

Wikipedia: Pointe du Hoc

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